motife
12-11-2007, 02:30 AM
Week 13: LeRoy Butler analyzes Raiders-Packers game
Posted: Dec. 10, 2007
LeRoy Butler 5 Questions
Former Packers all-pro safety LeRoy Butler teams up with Journal Sentinel beat writer Tom Silverstein in our "Questions with LeRoy Butler" feature.
Q. What did you think about the play of safeties Nick Collins and Atari Bigby and do you think they felt some heat from rookie Aaron Rouse going into the game?
A. I think the safeties played outstanding. I think the best all year. Collins made a great tackle on fourth down. And then he came back and broke up a pass that Bigby intercepted. He played lights out. And again, Rouse, when he was in the game, made a big block. These guys play very good as a trio and I think it's good going into the playoffs with these three guys rotating in at safety. I think rotating will keep guys fresh. It will add a little bit to more of the packages, the dime and nickel packages, if you put Rouse in there.
I think you can go with three linemen and two linebackers and put him in as another linebacker close to the line of scrimmage. There are a lot of ways the Packers can use him. I think each guy is going to want to start and the Packers can use that to their advantage. When Collins went down, Rouse came in and played admirably. If one guy gets injured, I have no problem with the next guy starting. Competitiveness is good every now and then.
Q. It looked like for the first time in quite awhile defensive coordinator Bob Sanders blitzed with more of a purpose. What did you think of the blitzes they ran?
A. I think the Packers tried to play smart. They try to play their opponent. You have two quarterbacks who don't accept pressure very well. What the Packers did was smart, they tried to pressure the quarterback so he couldn't sit back there and get in a comfort zone. I think it will be a game-by-game thing. They were pretty effective. It threw off the quarterback progression a couple times. It confused the offensive line. I think the Packers had a very, very good package going into that Raider game. It was unpredictable at times. Everyone likes to blitz when it's second and short or third and short, but they were very unpredictable. And you couldn't predict where they were coming from or who was coming. That was really good.
Q. Late in the game, Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp was calling out the plays the offense was about to run. Is that something the Packers should be worried about in the future or is it just something to laugh at?
A. That makes me see how bad Oakland really is if he knew the plays and they still couldn't stop them. When Ryan Grant had 159 yards, wow. Even if you know it and can't stop it, either the Packers running back and offensive line is really, really good or the Oakland Raiders are terrible. Or they just didn't believe Sapp. There's no problem. It's all a guessing game. I've seen it. Every guy has seen the West Coast offense before. So if you hear Brett make an audible and you recognize it, it's a guessing system. If you see the linemen sitting back, you can assume it's pass. You can always do that. He's a veteran. He's seen it all. But if you know in your heart where these plays are going and the guy still got 150 on you, man, you're a terrible team.
Q. The Packers rotated Jarrett Bush, Tramon Williams, Frank Walker and Will Blackmon at the nickel position. Is that a good thing to do at this point and which of those would you like to see play more?
A.I like the idea they're showing depth. They're the youngest team in the league and at the same time they're rotating these guys and keeping them fresh. I think they're getting ready for the five-wide situation. If teams do that they'll have enough to cover. Plus, I think Mike McCarthy is smart. He's giving every guy experience. He wants guys to get experience under their belts so if they get playing time it doesn't come as a surprise to them.
Out of all those guys, Bush is battle tested. He's been in some tough situations and he continues to keep fighting. That guy is fearless. If he makes a mistake it doesn't bother him. I respect that as a player. He has more time under his belt than the other guys. But Blackmon, I would really love to see him in more man-to-man situations. Plus, he's fresher than the other guys because he's been hurt.
Q. How much better can Grant get? Is he catching teams by surprise and will they start to get a feel for what he does best and adjust to it? Or do the Packers have a real thing going?
A. I think they have a real thing. If you go back to what I said after the second week, I really thought he was going to be a guy whose running style really matched what the Packers like to do. He hits the line of scrimmage full speed. I think he runs the same with a fullback in front of him or without one. I think it's just something else the defense has to prepare for. If the Packers can average 125 to 150 yards a game it will give the defense something else to think about. The way he's playing, breaking tackles and running with velocity, it's another weapon.
All year, people were saying the Packers need a running game, but Ryan Grant may well get 1,000 yards this season. That would be a great feat from not having a running game. I think Grant isn't as accomplished as Dallas' Marion Barber, but running the ball it seems like they're the same. They break a lot of tackles and have good vision. Grant has to work on his protection a little bit better because people are going to start to blitz when he's in the backfield. I think that's his weak point right now, understanding where the blitz is coming from.
Posted: Dec. 10, 2007
LeRoy Butler 5 Questions
Former Packers all-pro safety LeRoy Butler teams up with Journal Sentinel beat writer Tom Silverstein in our "Questions with LeRoy Butler" feature.
Q. What did you think about the play of safeties Nick Collins and Atari Bigby and do you think they felt some heat from rookie Aaron Rouse going into the game?
A. I think the safeties played outstanding. I think the best all year. Collins made a great tackle on fourth down. And then he came back and broke up a pass that Bigby intercepted. He played lights out. And again, Rouse, when he was in the game, made a big block. These guys play very good as a trio and I think it's good going into the playoffs with these three guys rotating in at safety. I think rotating will keep guys fresh. It will add a little bit to more of the packages, the dime and nickel packages, if you put Rouse in there.
I think you can go with three linemen and two linebackers and put him in as another linebacker close to the line of scrimmage. There are a lot of ways the Packers can use him. I think each guy is going to want to start and the Packers can use that to their advantage. When Collins went down, Rouse came in and played admirably. If one guy gets injured, I have no problem with the next guy starting. Competitiveness is good every now and then.
Q. It looked like for the first time in quite awhile defensive coordinator Bob Sanders blitzed with more of a purpose. What did you think of the blitzes they ran?
A. I think the Packers tried to play smart. They try to play their opponent. You have two quarterbacks who don't accept pressure very well. What the Packers did was smart, they tried to pressure the quarterback so he couldn't sit back there and get in a comfort zone. I think it will be a game-by-game thing. They were pretty effective. It threw off the quarterback progression a couple times. It confused the offensive line. I think the Packers had a very, very good package going into that Raider game. It was unpredictable at times. Everyone likes to blitz when it's second and short or third and short, but they were very unpredictable. And you couldn't predict where they were coming from or who was coming. That was really good.
Q. Late in the game, Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp was calling out the plays the offense was about to run. Is that something the Packers should be worried about in the future or is it just something to laugh at?
A. That makes me see how bad Oakland really is if he knew the plays and they still couldn't stop them. When Ryan Grant had 159 yards, wow. Even if you know it and can't stop it, either the Packers running back and offensive line is really, really good or the Oakland Raiders are terrible. Or they just didn't believe Sapp. There's no problem. It's all a guessing game. I've seen it. Every guy has seen the West Coast offense before. So if you hear Brett make an audible and you recognize it, it's a guessing system. If you see the linemen sitting back, you can assume it's pass. You can always do that. He's a veteran. He's seen it all. But if you know in your heart where these plays are going and the guy still got 150 on you, man, you're a terrible team.
Q. The Packers rotated Jarrett Bush, Tramon Williams, Frank Walker and Will Blackmon at the nickel position. Is that a good thing to do at this point and which of those would you like to see play more?
A.I like the idea they're showing depth. They're the youngest team in the league and at the same time they're rotating these guys and keeping them fresh. I think they're getting ready for the five-wide situation. If teams do that they'll have enough to cover. Plus, I think Mike McCarthy is smart. He's giving every guy experience. He wants guys to get experience under their belts so if they get playing time it doesn't come as a surprise to them.
Out of all those guys, Bush is battle tested. He's been in some tough situations and he continues to keep fighting. That guy is fearless. If he makes a mistake it doesn't bother him. I respect that as a player. He has more time under his belt than the other guys. But Blackmon, I would really love to see him in more man-to-man situations. Plus, he's fresher than the other guys because he's been hurt.
Q. How much better can Grant get? Is he catching teams by surprise and will they start to get a feel for what he does best and adjust to it? Or do the Packers have a real thing going?
A. I think they have a real thing. If you go back to what I said after the second week, I really thought he was going to be a guy whose running style really matched what the Packers like to do. He hits the line of scrimmage full speed. I think he runs the same with a fullback in front of him or without one. I think it's just something else the defense has to prepare for. If the Packers can average 125 to 150 yards a game it will give the defense something else to think about. The way he's playing, breaking tackles and running with velocity, it's another weapon.
All year, people were saying the Packers need a running game, but Ryan Grant may well get 1,000 yards this season. That would be a great feat from not having a running game. I think Grant isn't as accomplished as Dallas' Marion Barber, but running the ball it seems like they're the same. They break a lot of tackles and have good vision. Grant has to work on his protection a little bit better because people are going to start to blitz when he's in the backfield. I think that's his weak point right now, understanding where the blitz is coming from.